Thursday, September 1, 2016

Midweek Roundup: "Good news for coconut lovers"

Photo by Vicki

Heavenly Cake Walk

I was glad to see that I wasn't alone in appreciating how very quick and easy these cookies are to make. Sure, they're delicious too, but it was really a treat to be able to whip something up that didn't take two days, or even most of one day. Alas, we're almost done with the Quick and Easy list, but it's nice to hit the dog days of summer with this recipe.

Vicki went so far as to say that these coconut crisps must "require the least amount of effort of all of Rose's recipes." Unfortunately, her husband doesn't like coconut. (Neither does Jim, but somehow he's ended up liking all of Roses's recipes containing coconut, so maybe he's not such a coconut hater after all. Now eggplant, that's another story....) But for Vicki, who is a coconut lover, "these are perfect alongside a cup of tea or coffee."

Rachel also commented on how this recipe "lived up to its Quick and Easy billing. I was finished almost before I started....!" And when she was finished--"ta-da! Cookie perfection!" (Nice shiny new cookie sheet, Rachel!)

Orin called it a "record fast Rose recipe!" "It's so fast that I simply threw some ingredients in the food processor, added the rest and pulsed. Then knead a little bit and you're done." It was so humid, though, that Orin was having trouble rolling out the dough and cutting it (although she did have a very cute little rolling pin for the job), so she ended up just shaping the dough into balls and pressing the balls into circles, and all turned out well. Unfortunately, Orin's chief taster "just didn't get" this cookie, but he is looking forward to next week's chocolate mousse.

To make it unanimous, Catherine called these "the epitome of quick and easy." "The coconut flavour is very subtle.... They're not too sweet, are nice and buttery and lovely with a cup of tea." And happily, Catherine's tasters liked them a lot. "These went down an absolute treat at work, winning me brownie points with my new colleagues." Catherine's final advice? "Give these a go because they're very, very easy to make and delicious to boot."

Next week: a chocolate mousse cake. Well, what can I say? This one is not on the quick and easy list, and the reason is that it's not quick and easy. I made it last week, and even though it requires you to make templates to shape the outer cake layer (I tried unsuccessfully to talk Jim into making the templates. Why weren't you here helping me out, Woody?) Warning to those who live in hot climates--Rose advises serving this mousse after it's been at room temperature for 3 hours. I think if you're enjoying a spell a hot weather, you should be much more careful about when you take it out of the refrigerator. For me, one hour would have been perfect--just enough time to take the chill off but not enough so that it started to collapse.

The countdown: only 15 more fantastic recipes. Be sure to try some before it's too late!

Hi everyone! just wanted to tell you (ii'm not announcing it on the blog for security though Woody will be here) elliott and i will be in rio for the paralympics from sept 6 to the 20th. you are heading for my favorite of all the recipes in the book (maybe other than the kouign amman!)--the chocolate mousse cake. during the photo shoot i couldn't keep away from it that's how i know. it is so delicate, feather light, creamy, chocolatey--well--i don't want to influence you--you don't have to love it--just saying....! xoxo rose